Drinks

The Fizz family of drinks emerged in popularity in the 1910’s, 20’s, and 30’s, when citrus fruit juices (lime or lemon), carbonated water, a spirit, a sweetening agent, and other ingredients were combined to produce a concoction that kept people cool under their layers of clothing, even if hemlines have been raised or lowered quite a bit in the last century.

A modern Fizz, such as the “Springtime Fizz” below, brings tartness, tang, and color in the form of dried Hibiscus flowers along with some sweetness of pomegranate.

Raise Your Spirits is almost set to reveal their new spring/summer cocktail menu to the public. When you book with RYS, you have the opportunity to choose one, two, three, four, or five specialty hand-crafted cocktails exclusively through us. Many of these cocktails have stood the test of time and are proven libations. They have been used for our events as well as on seasonal cocktail menus for various bars in the area. Some are classics, twists on classics, and moderns. All recipes are RYS recipes. Proportions and ratios of ingredients are not listed due to copyright.

I meant to put this post together later in the week, but due to coordinating and doing three events this week, this V-day post comes early in the week. Giving you plenty of time to get the ingredients and perfect these cocktails before your date arrives.

Mardi Gras, like Christmas, is a whole season - not just one day. That being said, Fat Tuesday is the biggest day of celebration, and the date it falls on moves around. You'll find that Fat Tuesday can be any Tuesday between Feb. 3 and March 9. Carnival celebration starts on Jan. 6, the Twelfth Night (feast of Epiphany), and picks up speed through midnight on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday.

For this post, you will find various offerings of the classic Sidecar for the "Cocktail of the Month" Program (COM). Choose from one of these versions of the Sidecar for the month of January.

Would you like the ingredients for one of these cocktails delivered to your doorstep? At this time, this program is only available to Central PA. Let Raise Your Spirits do the shopping, make recipe cards, and box up ingredients with step-by-step instructions or have them batch the cocktail and deliver MTO. Either way, you get to keep the products.

Here are some seasonal Thanksgiving cocktails you can sip before, during, or after Thanksgiving dinner. You can even enjoy these elixirs on Black Friday or paired with that left-over turkey sandwich over the holiday weekend.

An adult version of the 19th century lemon drop candy, the Lemon Drop (Martini) consists of vodka, triple sec (orange liqueur), lemon juice, and simple syrup that is shaken and strained into a sugar-rimmed Martini/Cocktail glass and garnished with a lemon twist. In some circles, people have begun to mix it with Citrus Vodka, i.e. Absolut Citron, but the classic way is straight vodka.

Whether you're hosting a halloween party or want some cool and different cocktails to share with others, try some of these cocktails this week or over the halloween weekend. RYS will be serving most of these cocktails on Friday night. These are novelty drinks so proceed with caution. They are visually appealing, but not necessarily the best tasting. Have fun with it!

About Michael Nagy & Raise Your Spirits

Michael has been working in the bar and restaurant industry since 2000 as a head mixologist, liquid bar chef, spirits sommelier, bar manager, bar consultant, and cocktail expert. He holds an Advanced Certification in Mixology Bartending from the Professional Bartending Schools of America and is a former advanced mixology instructor at a prominent national bartending school. He has worked with many local bars and restaurants on developing cocktail menus, improving visibility, and customer service training. His cocktail book "The Cocktail Rediscovered" was released in 2007 and he currently runs a bar and cocktail website/blog here called “Tails from the Barstool”.

Michael is Owner & Operator of “Raise Your Spirits”, an elite bartending, top-shelf cocktail and beverage service, and bar consultation service in Central Pennsylvania since 2013. He has created seasonal cocktail menus for martini bars and cocktail lounges as well as for event venues, individuals, and businesses. He holds a B.S. Degree in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and has Master's credits in Education and Community Psychology. Michael has been writing for Chilled Magazine for over 2 years, other trade publications, and is currently contributing to "The Culture Trip", a travel, lifestyle, and culture site based in L.A. and Epicurious as a community writer. He can be followed on his site here, on Twitter @mixitup42, and Facebook at facebook.com/tailsfromthebarstool.com.

Latest Blog Entries

The Cocktail Rediscovered

Are you ready to take the 'bar' exam? This is the only tool you will need to raise the 'bar' for mixing drinks. Whether you are a novice bartender, who likes to play bartender at parties, or a professional bartender trying to perfect his/her craft in mixology, Learn More